


Nature's Requiem

by EclipsedMoon



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Fae!Varian, Faery AU!, Varian is a fae prince
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:53:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24614089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EclipsedMoon/pseuds/EclipsedMoon
Summary: Varian has been wandering far too long, observing the damage from a long war.
Kudos: 15





	Nature's Requiem

Varian breathed in deeply, inhaling the scents of burnt ground mixed with broken and decaying plants. The edge of the two realms. Human and Fae. The war had been dreadful and destructive. Fae had killed a majority of the humans. Most of the fae had been poisoned by the iron humans had found. It was slowly spreading. His people were slowly dying. He was one of the few immune to its effects to the discomfort of the other Fae. He was one of the few who could find a cure. If there was such a thing. Was he willing to?

Varian belonged to the court of the night. Unseelie as the humans called them. Not all of the unseelie fae was cruel, yes it was rare when a darker fae was beneficial to a human/s. Varian slowly breathed out, opening his eyes at the feel of the moon's light caressing him. The wind messing with his hair and spiked wings. He slowly spread open his compound wings, feeling the wind tug at the damaged ends. The light of the dark fae queen flowing around him. His mother, he could feel her gentle touch as she examined his singed and torn ends. He still had the ability to fly. He still had his powers. Varian was still able to summon things from nothing. He still could command the powers of the moon. He still had the knowledge of alchemy. The mixture of human science and fae magic. He was still _very_ dangerous.

It was safer to use his powers than to create alchemic serums with the current tensions between the many species of fae and humans. Varian turned at the sound of animal's cry, pain lacing it's voice. The light of his mother pulling away to tend to her duties. The fae prince flexed his fingers. Did he still have the ability to heal? He wasn't sure, it had been so long since he had used the gift. The thousand year long war had many forget about some of their powers and the meaning of kindness. Powers of healing for the fae and kindness for humans. Those who were struggling to heal from the traumas of war.

The young fae hesitated at the cry shattering the night. He breathed in deeply and moved forward. His boots silent on the ruined forest ground. Leaves and sticks fell apart beneath the lightest touch, his sharp ears following the desprate pleas of the dying animal. His heart thumped in his chest at the scene he came across. He glanced at his hands, flexing them. Did he still have the ablity to heal? It had been too long since he had last used the powers. Did he still remember how it was done?

Varian cautiously moved forward, his gaze dancing about the animal struggling to breath. The critter's legs were twisted every-which way. It's tail torn and tattered, worse than his wings. It's side and stomach had been torn open; it's insides spilling from the wound. The gory scene was nothing new to him. The creature turned it's eyes towards them, another cry escaped it. Panic filled it's voice. Varian could see the amount of pain it was in.

The noiret blinked. He had two options here. He could grant it mercy and put it to rest or he could attempt to heal it. The raccoon cried once more when he kneeled before it, fear and desperation darkened it's green eyes. Varian was numb to it's pain and torn body. His heart lurched at the thought. He didn't want to be. He wanted to care. He wanted to feel. He wanted it to affect him. He didn't want to be the emotionless monster the war had turned him into.

There was a way. Risky, but a way. Varian sat on his heels, his heart racing in his chest. He wanted to feel. He wanted to be able to connect with the gentler nature of himself. To reconnect with the plants he sorely missed. To reconnect with other living creatures. Varian missed his emotional connections. He didn't want to feel empty anymore. The raccoon cried again, blood strangling it's mournful sound as he placed his hands on either side of the creature.

Varian had to hurry before Death came to claim it. This was the only creature he had come accross in a long time. The others darting and hiding from the wrath of the fae. Varian closed his eyes, breathing in deeply as a weaker sound escaped the creature. He opened his wings, feeling the moon's light caressing them. He looked inside himself as he buried his fingers into the soft soil, remember this was one way that he had healed those around him. He hoped. Was it the risk of healing he had been thinking of?

Varian's heart dropped. He didn't remember. This wasn't the risky thing that had come to mind. Tears gathered beneath his lashes. He _didn't_ remember how it was done. It hurt. He blinked when the raccoon gurgled, no longer able to call out. Varian stared at it. It's fear wavering, struggling to hold onto life. His heart raced in his chest. There was another way to save it. Was this the risky way he had been thinking of? He angled his wings, ignoring their transparent shadows as they opened to their full length, consuming most of the ground shown in the light. Perhaps this creature could help him access his emotions once more. It was risky to link his life with the raccoons. It would kill the raccoon quicker if it didn't work, or make its death more agonizing.

Varian pulled away, placing his hands in his lap as closed his eyes, using his powers to illuminate the threads of life around him. Plants resting beneath the ground were strong and green, showing that they would return at the right time. His heart faltered at the black and gray thread of the raccoon. The shimmering string fading to a dull pulse. The animal was fading. He was fading fast. It didn't faze the noiret. Varian didn't like feeling this way. Life was precious. It had always been precious. The moon had taught him that. He didn't like the fact that _no-one_ seemed to care any more.

Varian tilted his head when a soft voice whispered in his ear. Feminine. Unfamiliar. Should he trust it? It whispered what to do next. The fae prince chose to trust. He opened his eyes, the strings more vibrant. He breathed in deeply and slowly let it out. He reached out for the fading string. The raccoon slipping into unconsciousness. The string felt feeble and ready to fall apart in his hands. He gingerly held it in his hands, glad he hadn't decide to wear his gloves. He could feel the coon's life in his palms, struggling to stay in it's mangled body.

Varian held the string close to his heart, a soft song falling from his lips. Mournful, broken, and lost. Songs had their own power. He maneuvered his wings so their transparent shadow thickened and encompassed his shadow and the creature's body. A faint feeling whispered through him. The power familiar. He reached into himself and struggled to grab the wisp, falling away from him each time as if it was afraid of him burning it. 

Varian closed his eyes as he brought his hands to his chest, gingerly holding the life string of the raccoon. The song rose and fell around him, the soft whispers within him cautiously appraoched and allowed him to grasp it. His song stuttered at the strong feeling of pain, the raccoons. He fought it down and struggled to bring his song back to full force. Tears pricked behind his eyes and fell down his cheeks in molten drops.

Soon his emotions were conveyed in the music floating around him, sharing his desperate desire to care, love, and protect. Another voice soon joined his. Feminine. Just as desperate to heal the land; harmonizing with his voice. He could feel creatures peer at him their hiding places. His voice hurt and his chest ached. Tears left hot trials down his cheeks. He felt gentle hands on his shoulders, a soft voice whispering in his ear. The familiar voice of rustling leaves, babbling brooks, and whispering wind. The Mother Queen of all that was nature. The goddess his people had shunned and were afraid to return to.

His heart hiccuped as when he felt her envolpe him in a comforting hug. Her whispers of forgiving him filling his pointed ears. Varian could feel the ghost of her fingers as she wiped away his tears. His song continued to flow from him, changing to hope when it came to an end. He opened his eyes when he felt someone lift his chin towards them. Varian blinked as he gasped. A woman dressed in forest green stood before him. Her eyes the color of the night and morning sky. Her hair fell in waves around her golden brown skin. Vines twined into her hair and around her arms. He followed her gaze when she looked at his arms.

Varian blinked at the sight of the raccoon staring at him with wide and knowledgeable eyes. The body was now whole. Varian could feel it's life flow in sync with his. It's form had changed. It was now lanky and slender like a cat. It's ears were large and pointed. It's claws were long and deadly, the gray of it's fur shimmered silver like a mixture of stardust and the moon. The darker part of it's fur shifted like shadows in the fire, threatening to consume the silverdust in its fur. Varian blinked at the feel of hands on either side of his face. _You are forgiven my child._ The prince's heart raced in his chest as the fae goddess kissed him on his crown. _My son, seek out the child of the sky. She will help in thine quest for healing._

Varian looked up at the goddess as the raccoon chittered softly, adjusting itself in his lap before pulling away and vanishing into the shadows. Varian watched the goddess smile and kiss him on the nose, feeling her power rush through him and healing what had been damaged. Varian's eyes fluttered closed, soaking in the softness of her presence. The mother of all fae whispering soft words of comfort. Varian blinked when he felt her disappear, pondering over the soft name she had given him. Child of the Earth.

Did he have her powers now? Varian blinked, noticing the greenery that sprouted around him in a perfect circle, flowers stretching towards the sky and releasing their gentle perfume. He turned his attention towards the raccoon when it called for his attention. In its front paws was a blue fruit that appeared to look like a raindrop. Varian blinked as accepted the fruit. He hesitated before taking a bit into the mourning drop. The salty tang filling his mouth as he chewed, aware of the raccoon watching him.

Varian finished the fruit as the raccoon snatched the core from him and finished off the seeds and steam. He blinked at the link that opened between the two. The raccoon chattered, surprising the fae prince that he now could understand him. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Alright Ruddigar, shall we start our search?"

**Author's Note:**

> This short is inspired by this [Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fomj9DQ8vts) and [Image](https://www.deviantart.com/bubblesrrj/art/VAGABOND-765814752).


End file.
